About Me

I am a person with varied interests.
Music is my breath and though I like all kinds of music, I am enamoured of the variety and the depth of Indian Classical music.As far as Film music is concerned, I love Old songs and ILaiyaraaja-whom I consider as one of the best composers in the world- is my favourite composer.
I love travelling and meeting new people . A lover of nature, I prefer those long walks.

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Wednesday, 2 June 2010

Natana Raaja-Part I

‘’Dancing in all its forms cannot be excluded from the curriculum of all noble education; dancing with the feet, with ideas, with words, and, need I add that one must also be able to dance with the pen?’’ said the great philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche.

Dance is considered to be the hidden language of the soul. There is no life without dance.Our beloved Raaja has composed many dance songs and these shine like rubies on his crown.

On this special day, I am starting this series on dance music of ILaiyaraaja. I would also be writing briefly about the various forms of dance and the features(a la the ‘Sculptor series’ where I discussed about the dance in Tamizh literature while describing the different songs from ‘ULiyin Osai’ about two years back).

The Hindu philosophy talks about the cosmic dance of Nataraja. I shall touch upon this in my forthcoming posts.But for a moment, let us imagine as to what would happen if everything in this world starts dancing?

The great tamizh poet AruNagirinadar-about whom I had written in this Blog while describing ‘tham tan a namthana’ )- imagines all the Gods and Goddesses dancing in front of him.

Legend has it that he was challenged by Sambanthaandaan in the Court of King Prapuda Devarajan at ThiruvaNaamalai. AruNagirinadar sang this Thiruppugazh that depicts the dance of Gods, Goddesses and the entire Universe.

It is also said that as he sang the fourth line(mayilum aadi nee aadi vara venum-you and your peacock should dance and come here), Lord Muruga appeared in the Court, in a dancing form with his peacock.

‘As Adisesha danced in the PaataLa loga. The Mount Meru danced on the Earth,KaaLi danced and along with her danced Siva making her shiver,BhoothagaNaas, the ghosts danced too,Brahma perched on the Lotus flower danced with the melodious Saraswati,The celestials and the Moon now joined the dancing party,Muruga’s in-laws Lakshmi and Vishnu danced,He who helped the PaaNdavaas defeat their enemies,He who mesmerized the cows with his flute,He who is lying on the milky ocean on a serpent,He who measured the entire world with one his one foot,He whose vehicle is the Garuda,You are his favourite nephew(or son-in-law),Please come and dance with your peacock here,And make the King Praputa Devarajan’s heart dance with joy!’

Look at the poetic beauty..And look how in the guise of praising Lord Muruga, he eulogises Lord Vishnu giving the gist of the Mahabharata and the Vaamana avatara in less than 4 lines.

That is AruNagirinaadar!

Now, let us briefly look at the different dance forms of India.

The treatise on classical dances of India is believed to be written by Bharta muni between the 2nd century BC and the 2nd century AD. More about this later in my forthcoming posts.

There are essentially seven major classical forms:

1.Bharatanatyam-a very classical form known for its aesthetic elements

2.Kuchipudi-originating from the village Kuchelapuram in AP

3.Kathakali-meaning ‘Story play’4.Mohinyaattam-Dnce of the enchantress believed to be named after the Mohini avatar of Lord Vishnu

5.Manipuri-a graceful form that lays emphasis on devotion

6.Odissi- known for its soft touches

7.Kathak-Focusses on the footwork and movements

Each one has its own beauty and of course different sets of rules.

Bharatanatyam, a very popular dance form across the globe involves hand gestures, facial expressions, movement of feet and the body. In fact, almost all the organs are involved while dancing. Minute eye-movements, neck movements and the hand movements make it one of the most aesthetic experiences if performed well by the artiste concerned.

Bharatanatyam essentially has Nrittam-movements that add to the beauty, Nrityam-specific movements to convey a message and Natya- depicting a story using what is called as the Abhinaya.

We shall see about Bharatanatyam and the other forms in detail in the posts to follow.

Let us now focus on today’s special composition

The composition is very special for various reasons.

First of all, it talks (musically) about the major classical dance forms.Secondly, it has only the percussion instruments and no melodic instruments.Thirdly, it is a Ragamaalika –with 5 ragas including 3 Hindustani ragas. Within a few phrases, the flavour of each raga is brought out beautifully!Fourthly, the ‘dance jatis’ are rendered by Raaja sir himself.

The composition is ‘Aavedanaa’ from the Telugu film Aalapana(1986).

It has a very unusual start with a shriek. This shriek alone means a lot as it gives the emotive touch to the entire composition. Can there be pleasure without pain?

Raag Bahaar is considered to be the Raag of Spring season.Maestro used it here to depict the dignity and grace of Manipuri.One also gets to see the delicate nuances of this special raga in the sangatis.The Pakhawaj and the gentle sound of the ankle bells give it a unique charm.

The softly textured charaNam phrase follows in keeping with the softness of Odissi.We hear the melodic strains of a Raag called Miyan ki Malhaar.

It is a Monsoon raga and the combination of ‘ni dha ni Sa’ denotes the gathering of clouds.

The usage of this Raag for Odissi shows the sensitivity of the composer.The breathtaking swirls and swings give us a breezy feel.

It is exuberance now as the majestic KathakaLi is depicted. The dynamism of this dance form comes out in full glory through the Carnatic raga AtaaNa- Sa ri2 ma1 pa ni3 Sa/Sa ni3 dha2 pa ma1 pa ga3 ri2 sa.

The use of pancha vadhyam here adds to the beauty and the majesty.

It is then the vivacious Tabla replete with graceful overtones. It weaves warp and weft into zigzag motifs making one feel Kathak.

The composition showcases a wide variety in expression and technique..

5 comments:

Nice seeing the song here. 'Aalapana' is an outstanding album but this song was not as popular as the other songs in the album. So it is good to see you highlighting this. As usual, very nice writing and thanks for the Tamil poem of Arunagirinathar. This is one of the few songs where you hear Raja using Kambhoji.

I have not heard this before.. I got here accidentally and I am glad I did! I enjoy ilayaraja's most compositions.. i am a polytheist when it comes to music.. so ilayaraja is one of the Gods... i greatly enjoy his pure carnatic presentation of songs- yet in a very fancy way.. thoongatha vizhigal(amrutha varshini)/aahaaya vennilaave(kaanada)/thoodu selvathaaradi(charukesi)/etc are some of my all time favs.

great writing.. esp the arunagirinathar poetry.. I have not come across such verses before!